1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to work stations and more particularly to portable, foldable work stations used in an autobody repair shop and primarily in a vehicle paint booth.
2. Description of Prior Art
Scaffolding, generally, can be divided into two general groups, i.e.; free standing or attached. In either case, the scaffolding provides a work station platform upon which a worker can perform some type of activity. Usually the scaffolding is attached to the structure being worked on or positioned immediately adjacent to a work piece. Examples of such types of scaffolds are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,947,962, 4,941,547, 4,825,976 and 3,851,729.
In the application of a scaffold work station for use in a vehicle paint booth, several additional considerations must be dealt with such as portability and air flow. During a painting operation in a vehicle spray booth, the operator must travel the length of the vehicle being painted in a smooth, generally uninterrupted manner. The operator must also avoid the tangling of air hoses that would impede his motion. Failure to do so may result in lap-lines, color variation, paint runs, etc. In addition exposure of the painted surface of the vehicle must be maintained in a contamination free environment, thus paint booths have a directed air flow system that must be generally unimpeded. The work station must be movable within the spray booth during a painting session but movement in and out of the booth during a painting session is not desirable since that would introduce contamination into the booth. The paint booth operator must also be able to reach various elevations in order to paint vehicles ranging from passenger automobiles to mini-vans to tractor trailers and the like. In addition to painting the vehicle proper, an operator must also so work on components of the vehicle, such as doors, hood, bumper, etc. as well as prepatory work on the vehicle, known as "pre-trimming" in the industry. Existing scaffold work stations do not provide or facilitate such pre-trimming procedures.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,997,024 discloses a portable scaffold ladder that may solve some of the vehicle paint booth scaffolding problems but the scaffold would have to be moved outside the paint booth to be able to access both sides of the vehicle to be painted. Although U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,719 generally discloses an apparatus to ascend a scaffold, it does disclose a scaffold similar to the U.S. Pat. No. 3,997,024 patented device but with the same problem of requiring moving the apparatus outside of a vehicle spray booth.